Door closer



April 28, 1931. M. KALTHOFF 1,303,253

- DOOR CLOSER Filed April 1, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F .3. .\w Z2 INVENTOR." a? MMKalt/wfif.

fig EORNEY;

April 28,' 1931.

M. KALTHOFF noon CLOSER Filed April 1. 1929 2. Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 28, 1931 MAX KALTHOFF, or GLENBROOK, CONNECTICUT noon cLosER Application filed April 1,1929. Serial No. 351,755.

The present invention consists of a-door closer and has for an object to provide a more durable structure capable of more efficient operation and less likely to get out of 6 order.

Another object of the invention is to mount the operating mechanism, in the closer shell, in a novel manner to assure efiective operation and to avoid undue strain or stress dur- 1 ing operation thereby preventing distortion or fracture of the operating mechanism.

A further obj ect of the invention is to provide a door closer employing a spring which may be tensioned in a facile and expeditious manner, without removing the closer or. disassembling the same. 1

A still further "object of the invention is to provide a door closer which functions to automatically close the door and which is equippedwith suitable'means to suspend operation of the closing mechanism when it is desired to retain the door in an open position.

Other objects of the-invention will be ap parent from the following description of the present preferred form of the invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein f Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a door closer constructed in accordance with the present invention, illustrating the application of the same; 7 v

Fig. 2 is a side elevational viewthereof;

Fig. 3 is avertical 'sectional 'view of the closer;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view of the closer, taken through "the liquid cylinder, showing the manner of mounting the piston and cross-head therein; I

Fig. 5 is 'a detail fragmentary sectional view, taken on the line 5 -5 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow Fig. 6 is a detail fragmentary "view-of the'spring chamber; 1

Fig. 7 is a detail'vertical sectional view taken on the line. 7 7 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrow; and,

Fig. 8 is a-detail sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 5, looking in the direction of the arrow. 1 i

In-'the-drawii1gs,in order to illustrate the sectional application of this invention, a portion of a door amb 9 and door frame is shown. The

door 10 is designed to be hingedly mounted to i 11, which is a unit casting formed to provide a liquid cylinder -12 with a superimposed spring chamber 13; The chamber 13 is provided with a concentric packing collar 14,

which issues upwardly from the upper face of the bottom of the spring chamber 13.

Lubricant ways 15 are formed inthe bottom of said chamber and converge to an annular recess' l6 which provides an oil reservoir for a purpose more fully hereinafter set forth. The bore of the collar 14 tapers near its lower end, as indicated at 17 and issues into a constricted passage-way which communicates V Wlth. the reservolr 16. The outer periphery the cylinder 12, midway the ends oft-he latter, a piston 23and a spring 24L." The shaft 21 extends through the collar 14in the bottom of the chamber 13 and has the lower end thereof, which is engaged in the boss 22," reduced. An intermediate part 25 of the shaft is also reduced, but is larger in diameter than I the lower end of the shaft, and has slidabl mounted thereon an eccentric 26, the arm .2

of which is pivotally engaged with one end of a link 28. The opposite end of said link is engaged with a pin29 which extends trans, versely across and is secured to a cross-head or guide 30. The cross-head or guide 30- .is of circular conformation and'is reciprooably mounted in the cylinder 12. Connecting rods 31* are secured to the cross-head orguide 30 'ofthe chamber 13 is equipped with radiating above the reduced portion of the bore 17.

The packing is adapted to be retained inthe collar by a nut 34, which is adjustable to urge the packing 33 inwardly toward the tapering bore 17. When the shaft 21 is in operative position, as shown to advantage in Fig. 3, the oil reservoir 16 surrounds the shaft and receives the oil which is forced-from the cylinv der 12 through the ways 15, as more fully hereinafter set out. The spring 24 is mounted in the chamber 13 around the collar 14 and has the outer end thereof anchored in a vertical channel 34 which communicates with the chamber 13. The spring, after'having been wound, until tensioned to the desired degree, is equipped with a restraining band 35 which prevents the spring from flexing outwardly into engagement with the inner periphery-of the chamber 13. The inner end of the spring is anchored in a vertical slot 36 which isformed in the periphery of a sleeve 37, the upper end of the latter being enlarged and provided with a circular series of notches to provide a ratchet wheel 38. It will be apparent that rotation of the ratchet wheelin a clock-wise direction Winds the spring and correspondingly tensions the same. When pressure is released from the ratchet wheel the latter is rotated in the opposite direction by theexpansiv'e action of the spring.

The upper end. of the shaft 21 projects above the ratchet wheel 38 and is formed to provide a squared shank 39 over which one end of a door closer arm 40 is mounted. The

arm is held from displacement by. a nut 41 which is threaded on a corresponding shank 42, which isv formed on the extreme upper terminal of the shaft 21. The arm slidably carries a pin or detent 43 which is engageable in any one of the notches of the ratchet wheel 38, whereby rotation ofthe arm 40 imparts a corresponding movement to the ratchet wheel and its sleeve 37, thereby rotating the latter against the resistance of the spring 24. The spring may be additionally tensioned 'atany time-by disengaging the pin 43 from the'ratchet wheel and rotating the latter through the medium of a suitable instrument, after which the pin 43 is permitted togravitate into one of the notches of the ratchet wheel. The outer end of the main 7 arm 40 is pivotally connected, as indicated at 44, to an auxiliary or fork arm 45, the latter being composed of twin parts which are adjustably mounted upona rod 46. The inner end of the-arm 45 is'detachably engaged with a spherical head 47, formed on one end of a jamb bracket 48, which is adapted to be engaged with the door jamb 9. It will be noted that the jamb' bracket, 48 is also equipped with horizontally extending apertured ears to adapt the same for securement either to a horizontal orvertical portion of a door jamb, or other fixed part of a building. By slidably mounting the twin parts of the arm 45 on the rod 46 it is apparent that an adjustment of either part may be made at the option of the user. The main arm 40 is also provided with a pivoted pawl 49 which normally pends vertical from the lowerfa-ce of said arm and is adapted for engagement with an'abutment 50, mounted on the upper face of the spring chamber cap 51. ,lVhen the door is moved into'an open position, the pawl 49 rides freely over the abutment and is adapted to gravitate in back of the latter so as to hold the door in an open position, if desired. The pawl maybe released by further opening the door so as to urge the pawl out of contact with the abutment over which latter the-pawl is free to ride when'the door is permitted to, swing into a closed position under the influence of the spring 24.

It will be apparent that the door is normally urged into'a closed position through the instrumentality of the spring 24. A liq- I uid check is provided to act against the expansive action of the spring in a manner well known in the art, except for a difference in operation as will be now described. A liquid such as oil, is introduced into the cylinder 12 and is urged therefrom through an opening 52 into a bypass 53 which is formed in the cylinder wall and opens into the cylinder intermediate the ends of the latter, as

indicated by.v the dotted lines in Fig. 3. control valve 54 is adjustably mounted in the cylinder to control the volume of liquid passing through the opening 52 into the bypass. The piston 23is equipped'witha ball valve 55, which closes through an opening 56, to prevent passage of the liquid through the piston upon the compression stroke of the latter. On the compression stroke the liquid, after having been urged into the by-pass 53 is dispensed into the cylinder back of the piston. Consequently, in view of the configuration of the opening 56, theliquid is permitted to pass through the latter on'the suction stroke of the piston in an obvious manner. The liquid circulates throughout the entire cylinder in a manner well known in the 'art and is adapted to flow through the ways 15 into the reservoir 16 to lubricate the shaft 21in an apparent manner.

From the above it will be apparent that the door closer is mounted on a door and door jamb in the customary manner and that the door may be held in an open position if desired. Furthermore, the spring 24 may be communication tensioned in a facile manner to insure effective operation of the closer at all times. The construction of the shell and the manner of assembling the door closing mechanism therein is of the essence of importance. In this connection emphasis is laid upon the making of the shell embodying the liquid cylinder, spring chamber and packing collar, with the liquid reservoir for the shaft therebeneath in one piece. Attention is-also directed to the fact that assemblage as well as disassemblage of the device may be accomplished expeditiously, notwithstanding the fact that the shell is cast as a unit. In disassembling the device it is only necessary, after the arm 40 has been disconnected from the shaft, to remove the cotter pin 32 which permits the shaft to be removed through the top of the spring chamber, while the piston and guide with the eccentric is removable by detaching the cap 20 from the one end of the cylinder. Assemblage is accomplished in an obvious manner. The shaft when mounted as shown in the drawings, especially Fig. 3, is capable of an oscillatory movement only in view of the fact that the guide 40 abuts the eccentric on the shaft 21, thereby permitting the closer to be mounted for operation in either a right or left hand direction.

Although I have herein described the pre-' ferred form of my invention, itis nevertheless to be understood that various changes may be made therein, especially in the details of construction, proportion and arrangement of parts, within the scope of the claim hereto appended.

What is claimed is: p

A door closer including an integral liquid cylinder and spring chamber, a shaft rotatably mounted in the cylinder and extended upwardly through the spring chamber, a cross-head mounted in said cylinder and engaged with the shaft, and a piston mounted in the cylinder in spaced relation to the cross-head and fixedly secured thereto for reciprocation in unison with the cross-head when the shaft is rotated.

MAX KALTHOFF. 

